Based on data showing that four times more people are in debt due to so-called “payday loans” now than there were two years ago, the Citizens Advice Bureau has said such loans are too easy to get and called for tighter regulation. Such loans are small, short-term, unsecured loans meant to hold the borrower over [...]
The Bank of England has reported that mortgage approvals in the UK were at their highest level in a year in July, with 49,239 loans for new home purchases approved during the month, although the gain was slight and remained at low levels historically. The number of mortgages approved in July compared to the 48,500 [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has reported that lending in the UK was flat overall in July at £7.6 billion compared to June, although mortgage approvals were up by 4 percent from June. Mortgage approvals were also up slightly from July 2010 at, while remortgage approvals were up 7 percent in July from June and [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has released new data showing that lending for home purchases was down 1 percent in July from June and was 6 percent below lending in July 2010. Gross mortgage lending was at £12.6 billion in the UK in July compared to £12.7 billion in June and £13.3 billion in [...]
Several large banks have said that they met goals for lending to small businesses overall, set under Project Merlin, in the first half of the year, according to figures released by the British Bankers’ Association. The banks – Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY), Barclays Bank (LSE: BARC), HSBC (LSE: HSBA), Banco Santander (BMAD: SAN; LSE: [...]
There is some controversy over a new credit offer from Barclays that would let customers transfer balances to a new card at zero percent interest for two years. The deal comes on the heels of a 20-month interest-free transfer offer from Halifax, while MNBA and Virgin Money both offer 19-months zero percent offers. The deal [...]
Homebuilder Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV) has asked the government to double the money allocated to a scheme to help first-time home buyers qualify for a mortgage. The scheme, FirstBuy, allows first-time buyers to qualify for a loan with just a 5 percent down payment and was designed to help 10,000 families buy their first home [...]
Demand for rental homes is up in the UK, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). The ARLA said that among its members, 74 percent had more people wanting to rent than properties to rent to them. The oversupply of potential renters is a result of a housing market in which more and [...]
A new survey has found that 28 percent of small businesses that applied four loans were turned down outright last year, against only 4 percent reporting a flat rejection form lenders in 2007, before the financial crisis began. The research also showed that fewer banks were approving overdrafts by smaller businesses, with 72 percent approved [...]
Financial information provider Moneyfacts has reported that interest rates on new mortgages are down to their lowest level in 23 years as lenders are able to raise funds in the financial markets more inexpensively and on the increasing probability that the Bank of England will keep interest rates at 0.5 percent for the foreseeable future. [...]
